No evidence was produced of a deferred fee arrangement between the law firm and funder backing franchise class actions against 7-Eleven, and the “unequivocal” denial by the solicitor running the cases should be accepted, a court has heard.
General Motors Holden Australia has denied that it owes compensation to Holden dealers over its decision to retire the iconic brand in Australia, and says its dependence on other GM units to supply the cars constituted “an event beyond its reasonable control”.
Australian Mercedes-Benz dealers behind a $650 million lawsuit over the car maker’s decision to move to a fixed-price agency model have lost a bid for an “ambitious number” of dealers to view “super confidential” documents from the company’s head office in Germany.
A marathon hearing of an application for court approval of a $98 million settlement in two 7-Eleven class actions has ended with a judge taking the rare step of signing off on the settlement amount while withholding approval of the legal costs and funding commission.
A judge has signed off on a $98 million settlement in two franchisee class actions against 7-Eleven, but has yet to reach a decision on $19.6 million in legal costs and a $25 million funding commission, which a court-appointed contradictor has urged him to reject.
A case before the Full Court that will revisit the question of whether class actions are managed investment schemes may not resolve all of the funding controversies that have emerged in a class action against franchise giant Retail Food Group, a court has heard.
A solicitor running two franchisee class actions against 7-Eleven “retaliated” against a group member who objected to a $98 million settlement and issued a late $6.5 million legal bill to benefit a litigation funder, a court has heard.
Convenience store giant 7-Eleven must hand over $595,000 to a franchisee found to have signed a franchise agreement and invested almost $796,000 into a Melbourne store under false pretences.
The contradictor appointed to represent group members in an application for approval of a $98 million settlement of two franchisee class actions against 7-Eleven has raised “grave concerns” about criticism by the senior partner of the law firm running the proceedings.
Nando’s Australia has been criticised for claiming that its costs in a dispute against a single franchisee could reach close to $2 million, with an associate judge saying the bill could kickstart a precedent that leads to “the end of litigation as we know it”.